Support stand



Nov. 29, 1966 T. H. ElcKHoFF SUPPORT STAND Filed Feb. 25, 1966 UnitedStates Patent Ofiice 3,288,415 Patented Nov. 29, 1966 3,288,415 SUPPORTSTAND Thomas H. Eickhof, 2250 Beechmont Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio FiledFeb. 23, 1966` Ser. No. 529,356 Claims. (Cl. 248-226) This inventionrelates to portable support stands and particularly to a stand of thetype which is adapted to be connected to a convention-al piece ofhousehold furniture to securely hold a supported item, as for example, aw1g block, against accidental or inadvertent movement. Morespecifically, this invention relates to an improved and portable wigblock stand which may be easily and securely attached to conventionalitems of household furniture.

Wigs have been used for ycenturies as disguises, covers for bald heads,and to satisfy courtroom protocol. More recently, it has been the voguefor women to keep and maintain several different hairdos or coiffures-in the form of wigs. Regardless of the reason for wearing the wig, theuser must often `store and comb it. For both of these purposes, the wigis usually supported -upon a so-called wig block, a configurated blockwhich has a top surface that generally conforms to the contour of thetop of a head. So long as the block is securely held in place, it 1s asimple matter to comb a wig while supported upon the block. However, ifthe block is insecurely mounted, combing can be troublesome. This ispartic-ularly true in the case of portable blocks of the type used whentraveling because of the relatively small and -l-ight bases providedwith these blocks.

It has, therefore, been a principal -objective of this invention toprovide a portable wig block support which may be easily attached to acommon item of bedroom furniture to xedly and securely hold a wig blockagainst accidental movement. Since nearly every bedroom includes adresser, a convenient height item of furniture at which to comb a wig,the support of this invention is par ticularly adapted to be securelyattached to any dresser, irrespective of its design, shape or size. Italso is, however, equally capable of being attached to a chest ofdrawers or any other item of furniture which includes a drawer since itrelies upon an open top corner structure for a -mounting base.

Generally, the wig block support of this invention may be envisioned asconsisting of a horizontal clamp having a corner element or blockfixedly depending from one end of the clamp and a cooperating movableV-shaped bracket attached to the opposite end. The open section of the Vof the bracket faces the corner 'block so that a vertical corner portionof a drawer may be clamped between the block and the bracket. A taperedvertical post extends upwardly from the block so as to provide acoupling element for reception of a hole in the base of a conventionalwig block or supported surface.

The primary advantage of this invention is that it provides aninexpensive and uncomplicated portable wig block support which may beattached to `any size or shape drawer. Since every bedroom includesnumerous drawers located at different heights, the support of thisinvention enables 4wigs to be stored at any optimal level, such as highout of reach of children or at lower levels which are more convenientfor purposes of combing the wig. Because the support is easilyattachable to and detachable from drawers, it facilitates movement fromone location to another during trips or simply :to change from a storagesite to a convenient combing position.

Another advantage yof this invention is that it provides a rigidportable support which may be easily attached to any convenient item offurniture to securely hold a supported surface or element againstaccidental or linadvertent movement.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be morereadily apparent from the following description of the drawings inwhich:

FIGURE l is a perspective View of the stand of the invention beingutilized as a Wig block support stand attached to a dresser,

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional View through the stand taken along line'2--2 of FIGURE l,

FIGURE 3 is a side-elevational View of the stand,

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged elevational view, partially in crosssection, ofthe iniitting portions of the wig block and the supporting stand.

Referring first to FIGURE l, it will be seen that the support stand 10of this invention is illustrated as supporting a wig block 11 althoughit may, with equal facility, be utilized to attach or anchor other itemsto the corner of an open top box or drawer 12. The drawer 12 may be apart of any item of furniture such as a dresser, chest of drawers, desk,etc. but when utilized to support a wig block, the drawer will usuallybe a part of a dresser 13.

As may be seen most clearly in FIGURE 3, 'the 'supporting stand 10includes a right angle body 14 having a horizontal section 15 from oneend of which depends a vertical section 16. The body is generallyI-shaped in cross section and has a corner block 17 depending from theend opposite from the section 16. This block is generally of a hollowcylindrical shape and is formed integral with the Ebody 14.

The horizontal section 15 of the body 14 also supports a couplingelement 18 which extends upwardly from and is integral with thehorizontal secti-on 15 of the body. This coupling 18 comprises a hollowtapered finger which has three equidistantly spaced longitudinal ribs 19on its s-urface. As may be seen most clearly in FIGURE 5, this finger isadapted to be received in a -central bore 20 of the wig block so as toform a coupling between the stand 10 and the block 11. The ribs 19function to minimize the frictional force which must be overcome toseparate the block from the finger while the taper of the fingeraccommodates a large .amount of wear in the bore of the block.

The section 16 of the main body 14 has an enlarged boss 21 formed on itslower end through which extends a threaded aperture 24. This aperture 24accommodates a threaded clamping screw 22 on one end of which is ahandle 23. A generally Y-shaped corner fitting bracket 25 is rotatablyattached to the opposite or inside end of the screw 21. The open orrecessed section of the bracket 25 defines a generally right Iangularrecess 26 which faces the corner block 17. To enable the screw 22 to berotated relative to the bracket 25, a small diameter necked portion 27of the screw passes through and is rotatable within an aperture 28 ofthe bracket. The bracket is secured to the screw by a flanged head 29 onthe end of the screw 22. If desired, a resilient pad (not shown) may beadhesively secured to the inner recessed portion 26 of the bracket 25 soas to eliminate any possibility of the bracket marring the surface ofthe drawer 12 to which the stand 10 is attached.

In order to secure the wig block 11 upon the stand 10, the block 11 hasa bore 20 in its bottom surface which is adapted to be received over thecoupling element or finger 18. The fit between the block 11 and the ribs19 of the coupling element 18 is such that friction precludes rotationof the wig block relative to the coupling `as a comb is passed through awig supported upon the block but permits the block to be rotatedrelative to the coupling element 18 when the block is actually grippedand rotated. Thus, the block is not subject to inadvertent or accidentalrotation or displacement but may be moved about with ease to provideaccess to different areas of a wig supported upon the block.

In use, the stand may easily be attached to the front corner of a drawer12 by placing the corner block 17 inside the front corner of the drawerwith the corner bracket located outside the drawer. The screw 22 maythen be rotated by turning the handle 23 so as to move the cornerbracket 25 into engagement with the outside corner surfaces of thedrawer to clamp the drawer between the block 17 and the bracket 23 asillustrated in FIGURE 2. Because the corner block 17 is cylindrical, itpermits the stand 10 to accommodate itself to various size and shapedrawers even though the front walls of the drawers may overhang the sidewalls. This same result may be accomplished by making the corner blocksquare or some other cross-sectional configuration, but it must then bepivotable about a vertical axis and cannot be made integral with thebody of the stand as in the illustrated and preferred embodiment.

It will readily be appreciated that this support is particularly wellsuited for use with portable wig blocks because of its adaptability toany size or shape drawer and the ease with which it may be attached to adrawer to form a secure anchor for the wig block.

While in the preferred embodiment, the body 14 of the stand 10 is formedintegral with the corner block 17 and the coupling element 18, it shouldbe appreciated that these elements may be made separately and coupledtogether, as by a central dowel pin, without departing from the spiritof this invention. However, the unitary structure is preferred becauseit lends itself to injection molding of the body from a plasticmaterial. In fact, when the stand is formed from injection moldedpieces, it requires only three elements; the body 14 which is formedintegral with the corner block 17 and the coupling element 18, the screwAwhich is molded integral with the handle 23, and the Vcorner bracket25.

While only a single embodiment of the invention has been disclosed andclaimed herein, those skilled in the art to which this inventionpertains will readily appreciate numerous changes and modications whichmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention hereof.Therefore, I do not intend to be limited except by the scope of theappended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. For use in combination with an open top drawer of an item offurniture, a support stand comprising,

a horizontal element adapted to be located over the top of the opencorner of a drawer,

a corner block depending from one end of said horizontal element andadapted to be fitted into the inside of said drawer corner,

a vertical element depending from the other end of said horizontalelement, said vertical element having a threaded aperture therein,

a threaded screw extending through said threaded aperture of saidvertical element, said screw including a manually turnable handlenon-rotatably defined on its outer end by means of which the screw maybe rotated to effect axial movement of said screw relative to said ange,

a corner fitting bracket rotatably mounted upon the inner end of saidscrew, said bracket defining a generally right angular recess in itsinner surface adapted to fit against the outer right angular cornersurfaces of said drawer, and

a support element attached to said horizontal element.

2. The support stand of claim 1 wherein said horizontal element, cornerblock, vertical element, and support element are all a single integralplastic unit.

3. The support stand of claim 1 wherein said corner block includes acircular cross-sectional portion engageable with the inside corner of adrawer so as to enable the stand to be attached to various size andshapes of drawers.

4. The support stand of claim 2 wherein said support element includes avertically extending post on the opposite side of said horizontalelement from said corner block, both said post and said corner blockhaving a coextensive vertical bore so that said post and said block areboth hollow.

5. The support stand of claim 4 wherein said vertically extending postis tapered upwardly and includes longitudinally extending surface ribs.

6. For use in combination with a wig block, a wig block support standadapted to be attached to an open top corner of a drawer, comprising,

a horizontal element adapted to be placed over said open top cornerstructure,

a corner block depending from one end of said horizontal element andadapted to be mounted inside said corner of said drawer,

a vertical element depending from the other end of said horizontalelement, said vertical element having a horizontal threaded aperturetherein,

a threaded screw extending through said aperture and including amanually turnable handle on the outer end of the screw operable toeffect axial movement of the screw upon rotation of said handle,

a corner fitting bracket rotatably secured to the inner end of saidscrew, said bracket defining a generally right angular recess in itsinner surface adapted to fit against the outer right angular cornersurfaces of said drawer,

a wig block coupling element extending upwardly from said horizontalelement and adapted to receive a bore of a wig block so as to supportsaid wig block upon said stand.

7. The support stand of claim 6 wherein said coupling element comprisesa vertically extending tapered post adapted to be received within avertical bore in the bottom of said wig block.

8. The support stand of claim 6 Iwherein said horizontal element, cornerblock, vertical element and coupling element are all a single integralplastic unit.

9. The support stand of claim 6 wherein said corner block includes acircular cross-sectional portion engageable with the inside corner of adrawer so as to enable said stand to be attached to various sidedrawers.

10. The support stand of claim 9 wherein said coupling element comprisesa tapered vertically extending post having longitudinally extendingsurface ribs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,660,329 2/1928Fleming 269-98 2,896,896 7/1959 ReVZin 248-229 3,198,408 8/1965 Benner223-66 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

1. FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH AN OPEN TOP DRAWER OF AN ITEM FORFURNITURE, A SUPPORT STAND COMPRISING, A HORIZONTAL ELEMENT ADAPTED TOBE LOCATED OVER THE TOP OF THE OPEN CORNER OF A DRAWER, A CORNER BLOCKDEPENDING FROM ONE END OF SAID HORIZONTAL ELEMENT AND ADAPTED TO BEFITTED INTO THE INSIDE OF SAID DRAWER CORNER, A VERTICAL ELEMENTDEPENDING FROM THE OTHER END OF SAID HORIZONTAL ELEMENT, SAID VERTICALELEMENT HAVING A THREADED APERTURE THEREIN, A THREADED SCREW EXTENDINGTHROUGH SAID THREADED APERTURE OF SAID VERTICAL ELEMENT, SAID SCREWINCLUDING A MANUALLY TURNABLE HANDLE NON-ROTATABLY DEFINED ON ITS OUTEREND BY MEANS OF WHICH THE SAID SCREW MAY BE ROTATED TO EFFECT AXIALMOVEMENT OF SAID SCREW RELATIVE TO SAID FLANGE, A CORNER FITTING BRACKETROTATABLY MOUNTED UPON THE INNER END OF SAID SCREW, SAID BRACKETDEFINING A GENERALLY RIGHT ANGULAR RECESS IN ITS INNER SURFACE ADAPTEDTO FIT AGAINST THE OUTER RIGHT ANGULAR CORNER SURFACES OF SAID DRAWER,AND A SUPPORT ELEMENT ATTACHED TO SAID HORIZONTAL ELEMENT.